Last week I purchased a Yiynova MSP19U, a 19″ pressure-sensitive tablet monitor. After the fantastic review by Frenden this tablet monitor has gotten a lot of internet attention. Wacom has utterly dominated the field, leaving little room for competitors. But there’s a new kid on the block.

The MSP19U is a worthy competitor. It’s not perfect. But it’s darn good.

Presentation

It’s not the greatest presentation. If you’re looking for a slick, Apple-like packaging… look elsewhere. All you’ll get here is simple instructions with more Engrish than you can shake a stick at.

Hardware

The device itself is great. It’s sturdy, well-constructed and has a nice screen on it. It’s more lightweight and portable than any Cintiq I’ve used. I was quite comfortable sitting on my bed with this thing in my lap. I’m pretty sure a Cintiq would have crushed my pelvis.

I like the colors better than any Cintiq I’ve used. I’ve found Cintiqs to have unusually dull colors (even when calibrated). The MSP19U is bright and vibrant. It leans a bit cool in color (and a tad light) out of the box, but nothing a little calibration can’t fix.

The surface is glassy smooth. Personally, I like this better than the faux-grit that a lot of current Wacom tablets have. If you really want to put some grit on the screen, you can always add a screen protector.

There are no buttons on the device. Word has it that the next generation device they’re producing will have them, but this one didn’t. I’m ok with that. I’ve never used the buttons on my Intuos and I don’t have any need to start. I prefer key commands on my keyboard—they’re faster and more reliable.

The viewing angles aren’t great. But I find when working on a tablet monitor you’re more likely to be looking directly at it than at a traditional monitor.

Software

The drivers are a bit problematic and the software interface is kinda ugly. But not a big deal. I was able to get it working quickly. And once you get it working there’s little need to touch the software again. I do wish I had more customization on the pressure-sensitivity, but I’m sure that will come as the company improves their software.

Summary

It’s not a flawless piece of hardware, but I absolutely love this thing. And I haven’t even mentioned the price: at $600, this is a steal. To get a Wacom product of similar quality, you’d be looking at 2-4x that price.

I’m not going to tell you that the Yiynova MSP19U is better than a Wacom Cintiq. But I will tell you that it’s every bit as good. If you’re in the market for a tablet monitor and prefer to not spend money for the sake of spending money, buy one of these. You won’t regret it.

4.5/5 stars

By learning to start well, you’re setting yourself up for making much better paintings down the road. You can render something till the end of the time, but if it didn’t start well it’s likely not going to finish well.

In this 2 hour, 30 minute video I create 6 different sketches in Photoshop while answering a wide range of audience-contributed questions. From theoretical topics to more technical details, we cover it all.

And you know the best part? It’s free! That’s right, I’m giving this video away. All you have to do is click the button below, share it on Twitter or Facebook, and the download is all yours. I’ve even included the original, high-res file so you can zoom in and check out exactly what I was doing on each of the pieces.

I did a still life this morning on livestream. I hadn’t done a still life in months. Maybe longer. But since I’ve had the nagging feeling lately that my art is getting stale I’ve been looking for ways to push my skills and continue to develop as an artist.

So I went back to the basics. Back to working from life. Back to studying. Not just making pretty pictures, but trying to develop the skills necessary to make pretty pictures. I don’t think an artist can ever get to the point where returning to study the basics is not beneficial. So on top of all of the professional and portfolio work I’m trying to do these days, I’ll be making times for studies, so that the former can become even better. I’ll livestream what I can, so hopefully you’ll join me! I always post on Facebook & Twitter when I’m going to livestream (usually with a little advance notice).